Working with Gabriele has been an absolute NIGHTMARE.
The worst part about dealing with Gabriele is that when something is wrong or goes wrong, she simply washes her hands of it and leaves the client to deal with it OR goes out of her way to ensure the issue cannot be resolved.
The Damaged Carpet and the Steps Gabriele Took to Make Resolution of the Same as Difficult as Possible
We received a damaged carpet (just one of 10 different things that arrived at our house damaged). We paid $125.00 to have the carpet delivered. It arrived at the house damaged. We advised Gabriele of the same. She advised she put in a claim and ordered another. We lived with the damaged carpet for approximately 2.5 to 3 months. We were then told when the second carpet arrived (even though we already paid $125.00 to have what was a damaged carpet delivered), that we would have to pay to have that carpet picked up and the new carpet delivered ($225.00) - totally unacceptable.
As we were at our wits end with Gabriele at this point (the list of issues was endless), my husband returned the damaged carpet and picked up the new one (on his time, during the work day). The "new" carpet we received was in worse shape than the original carpet we received. We took photos, sent them to Gabriele and her answer was that we had to deal with ProSource - it was not her problem.
The $1,300.00 Mark Up on The Carpet
We then learned that she charged us $4,200.00 for the carpet even though the carpet only cost $2,900.00 (a markup of $1,300.00 - despite her contract that says we receive the designer discounts and her oral representations of the same), it is delivered to us damaged, a second carpet was delivered to us damaged, and her answer was to tell us it was our problem.
Initially, ProSource was very good to deal with. They ordered us a third carpet. Very unfortunately, it arrived and we learned that it had the same problems as the first two carpets. Consequently, I spoke with the manufacturer and we agreed I would return the carpet.
I began trying to make arrangements to do the same. I was advised by the manufacturer that they had not received any money from Gabriele and I was advised by ProSource that Gabriele has my money and I would have to deal with her to get it back.
Her Active Involvement in ProSource Refusing to Pick Up the Carpet
ProSource sent me an email advising me that they WOULD PICK UP the carpet from home and at the same time provide me with a cheque from Gabriele for my money. I advised ProSource that I wanted the cheque to be certified or that Gabriele provide a bank draft so that when they got the carpet back, I also got my money back (without concern that the cheque would bounce).
Gabriele not only refused to provide the certified cheque or bank draft, she also contacted ProSource and persuaded them not to pick up the carpet from my home.
ProSource was suddenly telling me that they will give me my cheque when “I return the carpet to them and after they “inspect it.”
I then received an email from Gabriele alleging that I damaged the carpet (which is complete fabrication and I would never do) and claiming that I was trying to take her money and not return the carpet (which is totally untrue as I was the one repeatedly emailing ProSource trying to make arrangements to do the same).
The email was nonsensical as she had received the emails between me and ProSource which made it clear that the return of the carpet and my money would be simultaneous (like every transaction involving a return of a product). Gabriele does not seem to understand this concept.
Gabriele then insisted that the only way I was going to get a certified cheque from her is if I return the carpet to ProSource myself. Her conduct is vindictive and grossly unprofessional. When I asked her what her giving me a certified cheque had to with ProSource picking up the carpet from my home (as they had agreed to do), she refused to answer my question.
I had to threaten to bring legal action for Gabriele to resolve the issue. I have never dealt with someone so unprofessional – ever.
Other issues with my Condo include (but sadly are not limited to):
1)Dining Room Table: the first delivery arrived at our home and it was the wrong table. The second table arrived - it was the right table but it was so dirty I had to clean it before I could let the guys bring in into the house and while cleaning it, found that the entire side of the table was damaged. The table was not cleaned or inspected before it was sent to us. Gabriele kept insisting that it was “normal” for wood tables to be damaged. There were endless telephone calls to the manufacturer and the table was returned to be “repaired.” The table was then returned to us again – damaged. Ultimately they sent someone to “touch up” all the damage. The colour of the stain they used to fix the damage was a different colour than the dining table. Keep in mind that each time someone came to pick up or drop off a product, we had to be home – during the work day.
2)I paid Gabriele $185.00 per hour to attend at my house the day the contractors were drilling the hole to install our dining room chandelier. I specifically asked her to be there because I was worried the contractor would put the hole in the wrong spot. Gabriele attended at the house (charged me for her time) and had the contractor drill a hole in the wrong spot -- in the middle of one of the coffers in the ceiling. My husband was there and told her not to do it and she did it anyway. Had the contractors put the light where the hole was drilled, our dining table would have had to be pushed against our pantry and part of the way into our living room for the light to be centered over the table. We had to have the contractor come back and fix the hole and move the hole. The damage to the coffer is still evident.
3)We were told that were getting a “coffer” ceiling. I arrived home from work the day the ceiling was installed to find one ¾ inch board running in a grid across the ceiling. When I sent Gabriele a picture of the ceiling she told me that was the finished product. When I sent her a picture of what an actual coffer ceiling looked like, she told me I had to deal with the contractor. The Contractor was amazing but as usual, Gabriele washed her hands of it and left it us to have to fix. The ceiling is gorgeous because the Contractor and I made it that way – not because of Gabriele.
4)The living room table arrived damaged. Again we had to wait at home for the store to bring us another.
5)We had built in desks installed. The company installed the desks. There was a chip out of the edge of the desk and one of the drawers was broken. We had to call them back several times to fix the issues because they did not complete the repairs properly. When they told us that they would not come back again for free (even though they were the ones who installed it incorrectly and failed to repair it properly in the first instance), Gabriele sided with the supplier and told us that we would have to pay to have them come back and properly fix it. My husband ultimately had to deal with the issues.
6)She installed a light in our office that does not emit any light. We cannot see in the room when the light is on.
7)The light in our main bathroom arrived broken – we had to get a new one.
8)She hung the picture in our bathroom too low and it sits on top of the towel rack. She also installed a shower curtain without ironing it (it still had square creases in it from the packaging it was in).
9)Living Room Chairs: The wood on the chairs was supposed to stained grey. The chairs showed up with chocolate brown stain. I would describe them as ugly. Initially Gabriele tried to insist they were grey. I had to send her pictures with other brown things beside them for her to believe that they were not.
Sadly, this list is not exhaustive.
Gabriele will post a response to this review claiming that the issues were the fault of contractors and she will blame other people for the issues. This is a huge problem when she is the one recommending and endorsing the people who came to our condo to do the work. Gabriele just cannot take responsibility for her mistakes – this is a huge problem that has cost us an inordinate amount of time and money trying to fix them after paying her $185.00 per hour. We hired her to make our lives easier – not harder.
She will also tell you were happy with our condo. This is true – we were happy with the look of our new space – however, it does not outweigh the fact that after she took our money she left us with huge issues and that she conducted herself in a spiteful, unprofessional, and inappropriate manner when all we were trying to do was return a rug that was given to us damaged – twice.
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